If you’re looking for a houseplant that doesn’t need a lot of watering, you might want to consider the creeping Charlie houseplant. This houseplant, also called Swedish Ivy, doesn’t need much water or maintenance at all to look good year-round. We’ll provide additional information about the creeping Charlie houseplant, including its soil and light needs, watering schedule, food needs, when to trim it, humidity requirements, how to propagate it, and common issues with it.
What is Creeping Charlie?
Low-maintenance creeping Charlie plants, also called Swedish ivy, are the forgetful gardener’s best friend. Creeping Charlie grows as a perennial ground cover in USDA zones 10 and 11. Cooler climates commonly use it as a houseplant, its scalloped leaves cascading down a planter. This attractive plant is not the same as the invasive ground cover weed.
Soil and light
The creeping Charlie grows well in all soil types except heavy clay, but it thrives in fertile, loam soil with rich organic matter. Compost, leaf mold, and manure can be worked into a flower bed to increase organic matter for creeping Charlie outdoors. Potted plants thrive in a blend of sphagnum peat moss, finished compost, perlite, vermiculite, or sand.
Plant creeping Charlie no deeper than the root ball to avoid rot around the stem and root crown. Full sun stunts creeping plants’ growth, so choose a spot with dappled sunlight to maximize growth. The ideal amount of sunlight creeping Charlie should receive is four or five hours daily.
Watering Schedule
Drought won’t harm this plant, but it prefers medium moisture. Once or twice weekly, water to keep it moist but not wet. If water flows through the bottom drain hole, the plant has received sufficient watering.
Drain excess water from the catch basin, if applicable. Check the soil around the plant for moisture. When the soil is dry beyond the first knuckle, water. Be careful when watering to prevent fungal problems. The danger of overwatering houseplants is greater than underwatering because root rot develops easier.
Creeping Charlie Food Needs
Creeping Charlie grows faster and healthier with regular fertilizer application. Balanced fertilizers provide plants with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Use a water-soluble fertilizer as part of your watering routine. Make sure you read the fertilizer label carefully to ensure that you are following the mixing instructions. Water-soluble fertilizers for houseplants should be mixed at a ratio of 1 teaspoon per gallon, instead of 1 tablespoon per gallon for outdoor plants.
Weekly applications are recommended during the growing season – May through October – and monthly applications between November and April.
Maintenance Trim
If creeping Charlie becomes straggly or overgrown, it should be trimmed during the growing season. If you want to maintain a certain plant size or shape, trim the stems before they leaf out – this is especially important if you have limited space or want to keep cascading stems away from pets or children. You might need to make a more drastic cut if the growth becomes uneven or unattractive. Trim the creeping Charlie so that each stem measures three to four inches in length, and it will regrow with a much fuller, even appearance. Pinch back stem tips to encourage even more growth. The stems are tender enough to pinch with your fingers, but if you prefer hand pruners, disinfect them in a solution of 1 part bleach to 9 parts of water.
Humidity
As with the temperature, the Creeping Charlie is also easy to grow when it comes to humidity. Despite its preference for higher humidity levels, it can also survive in a normal room and house humidity – just mist it with water occasionally. Still, if you live in a very dry environment, you will have to take a few measures to provide it with enough humidity. The easiest thing to do is to buy a small humidifier for your beautiful plant.
Propagation
It is possible to propagate creeping Charlie houseplants from stem cuttings. Make sure to propagate in summer after the flowers bloom. Stems can be rooted in either moist potting mix or water.
You can also use division to propagate it, but we recommend stem cutting. It’s both effective and convenient.
Common Creeping Charlie Issues
There are a few issues with the creeping Charlie from time to time. These include:
Drooping and yellowing plants
This is a common problem with creeping Charlie houseplants. It occurs when the plant doesn’t get enough water or when its potting mix is too dry. Water your plant more often to get rid of it.
Spider mites
These pests thrive on houseplants, especially in warm weather when they don’t receive enough water. It is, however, easy to tackle spider mites. Use Neem oil or any insecticide to kill spider mites. Then remove them with q-tips.
Mealybugs
Mealybugs and houseplants go way back. The small, cotton-like pests stick to your plant’s leaves and stems, making them yellow, pale, and rusty. To get rid of them, use alcohol or insecticide. Spray the liquid on the bugs to kill them, and then remove their bodies with a q-tip or a cloth.
That’s what you need to know about the creeping Charlie houseplant. When deciding whether you want to have a creeping Charlie houseplant in your home, think about where you wish to put it, set up a schedule for watering it and giving it plant food, and watch it to make sure it doesn’t develop any issues. If you do these things, your creeping Charlie houseplant will look nice for many years.